Game



y 8, 1963 G. T. BIRDSALL ETAL 3,091,464

- GAME Filed Jan. 2'7, 1961 JWQ 1 INV EN TORS ao/ye 7 51rd 64 Z Z MQQW United dtates Patent 9 3,091,464 GAME George T. Birdsall, RED. 2, and Thomas A. Bergstrom, Walnut Hill Road, both of Bethel, Conn. Filed Jan. 27, 1961, Ser. No. 85,388 Claims. (Cl. 273-168) This invention relates to games and more particularly to a game having a playing board, a target and playing pieces which may be caused to be propelled from a starting position toward the target.

The object of this invention is to provide a game which may be played by one person alone or with several players and which is competitive and affords a great deal of pleasure and entertainment.

This object is attained by providing a flat smooth horizontal table having at one end a moving target comprising a working surface of ferromagnetic material and providing playing pieces which are permanent magnets and which may be slid along the table from its opposite end toward the target in an effort to cause the playing pieces to attach themselves to the working surface of the target or to dislodge therefrom a playing piece so attached by another player.

Interest and difficulty of the game are heightened by marking-off the target in sections and ascribing to the various sections different values to be counted in the scores of the several players.

In the form of the invention at present preferred, the target is in the form of a rotatable wheel having at least the rim portion made of ferromagnetic material and the sections of varying values are sectors of the wheel. The playing pieces are cylindrical magnets, preferably elongate and having rounded ends. The playing pieces are adapted to be propelled along the table, with sliding or rolling actions, toward the target wheel, which may be rotated manually or automatically as desired.

Both the playing pieces and the rim of the wheel have suflicient weight and mass, so that if a piece strikes the rim with too much force it will rebound and not become attached to the wheel, but will roll away from the Wheel possibly obstructing the desired path of the nextpropelled piece.

Other features and advantages will hereinafter appear.

In the accompanying drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a plan View of the game of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal section of the game shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary view of a portion of the target wheel showing a playing piece attached thereto.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view showing the position which the playing piece takes when it becomes attached to the target wheel.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a modified drive for the target wheel whereby the latter may be hand operated or power driven.

The game of the present invention comprises a smooth flat rectangular table having upwardly extending barriers or side walls 11. Near the players end 12 of the table there is a foul line and above the latter there may be :provided a transverse bar 13 spaced sufiiciently from the surface of the table to permit a playing piece 14 to pass thereunder when being slid toward the other end 15 of the table where the target is located.

According to the present invention, the target is in the form of a wheel 16, the lower part of which is located in a circular hole or recess 16a in the table. The wheel 16 is mounted on a vertical shaft 17 supported in a bearing 18 carried by the underside of the table. The wheel 16 may be spun by hand, but preferably it ice is power driven. For this purpose, below the bearing 18 the shaft 17 has a pulley 19 engaged by a belt 20 driven by an electric motor 21, supported on a bracket 22 secured to the table as shown in FIG. 2.

According to the present invention, the playing pieces 14 are elongate magnets preferably cylindrical with rounded ends 23 to avoid scuffing or scouring the board 10 while they are being slid toward the target wheel 16-. The size and weight of the playing pieces 14 are matters of choice, but it has been found that pieces about 2%" long and A in diameter are satisfactory for playing by adults as well as children.

The rim 24 of the target wheel 16 is made of ferromagnetic material so that when a playing piece 14 is propelled toward the wheel by the player and approaches or comes to rest in close proximity to the wheel, the magnetic playing piece 14 will attract itself to and then attach itself to the rim 24 and remain there unless otherwise disturbed, as will appear below.

To prevent the attached playing piece 14 from being dragged along the surface of the table as the target wheel is being rotated, the rim 24 is provided with a peripheral groove 25, preferably concave in form and having a radius substantially greater than .the diameter of the playing piece 14. Hence when the piece 14 attaches itself to the rim, it is drawn off the table and into the groove 25 and assumes the position shown in FIG. 4 where it is raised above the surface of the table 10.

The rim 24 has such width and the wheel is so mounted that a portion of the rim is located slightly below the playing surface of the table as shown in FIG. 4 so that no portion of the rim obstructs the free movement of the piece 14 into the groove 25.

As shown in FIG. 1, the wheel is marked-off in sectors 26 Which may be designated by numerals 27, or letters if desired, and preferably the surface of the sectors and the rim portions are painted with different colors to distinguish each particular sector from the others.

The object of the game is to slide the playing piece toward the target wheel so that it arrives there at the same time that the sector of highest or intended value faces the player whereby the piece becomes attached to the selected sector. This requires considerable skill and practice.

After a players piece has become attached to the target wheel, the next player has the option of trying to cause his playing piece to become attached to a sector having a higher value than his opponents or striking the latters playing piece to knock it off the wheel with his own. The winner of the game is the one whose pieces remaining on the wheel total the highest score.

While the magnet of the playing piece 14 is powerful enough to be held to the target wheel when the latter is rotated, the force is not enough to prevent a piece, which is struck by another, from being dislodged from the wheel. If the attacking piece strikes the attached piece near either end the piece can easily be dislodged from the wheel, for it will be noted in FIGS. 3 and 4 that the contact of the playing pieces and the rim is virtually a po-int-to-point contact and at a point midway the length of the piece 14.

Not only is skill required in timing the arrival of the playing piece at the target, but it is also required in applying just enough force in propelling the playing piece to cause it to attach to the wheel. This is because, if too much force is used, the impact of the piece with the rim will cause the former to rebound from the rim and roll away in which case there would be no score for that play.

In the modification shown in FIG. 5, there is a oneway driving connection between the pulley 19 and the shaft 17. The pulley is free-turning on the shaft and has secured to it a ratchet wheel 23, while an arm 29 attached to the target wheel shaft is provided with a spring press pawl 30 engaging the ratchet wheel. With this arrangement the target wheel can be spun by hand without interference by the motor and thus the game may 'be used where a source of power for the motor is not available.

It will be understood that the specific rules for playing the game and the scoring may be varied by agreement between the players. For instance, a playing piece which rebounds from the target wheel instead of becoming attached may be considered dead and be removed from the board. Another variation may be that the player is given credit toward his score as soon as the playing piece becomes attached to the wheel Whether or not his playing piece is dislodged by another.

Variations and modifications may be made Within the scope of the claims and portions of the improvements may be used without others.

We claim:

1. A game comprising a board having a fiat smooth elongate substantially horizontal playing surface along which playing pieces may be propelled by pushing the same from a players position at one end of the board to travel free in a substantially straight line toward the other end thereof; a target at said other end of the board formed of ferromagnetic material; and permanently magnetized playing pieces adapted to magnetically attach themselves to the ferromagnetic target when brought into magnetic proximity thereto by said straight line movement directly to said target, said target and playing piece being sufficiently rigid to cause rebound of the playing piece when it strikes said target with too much force.

2. A game as defined in claim 1 in which the target comprises a horizontal rotatable wheel having a rim portion forming the target surface to which the playing piece adheres, the lower portion of said rim being substantially flush with said playing surface and having sectors thereof designated to indicate different scoring values.

3. A game as defined in claim 2 in which there are power means for rota-ting the wheel.

4. A game as defined in claim 2 in which the edge of the target adjacent the board-is upwardly inclined and the playing pieces are cylindrical so as to slide as well as roll along the playing surface of the board toward the target and to be lifted up the inclined edge out of engagement with the board.

5. A game as defined in claim 4 in which the rim of the wheel has a concave groove with a radius of curvature substantially greater than the radius of the playing piece whereby the latter centers itself on the rim out of contact with the surface of the table.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 581,678 Nesbit Apr. 27, 1897 1,550,039 Mytton Aug. 18, 1925 2,470,159 Geary May 17, 1949 2,477,631 Volman July 26, 1949 2,562,089 Fishlove July 24, 1951 2,853,830 'Herzog Sept. 30, 1958 2,956,807 Luchsiuger Oct. 18, 1960 FOREIGN PATENTS 198,537 Great Britain June 7, 1923 155,151 Switzerland June 15, 1932 

1. A GAME COMPRISING A BOARD HAVING A FLAT SMOOTH ELONGATE SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTAL PLAYING SURFACE ALONG WHICH PLAYING PIECES MAY BE PROPELLED BY PUSHING THE SAME FROM A PLAYER''S POSITION AT ONE END OF THE BOARD TO TRAVEL FREE IN A SUBSTANTIALLY STRAIGHT LINE TOWARD THE OTHER END THEREOF; A TARGET AT SAID OTHER END OF THE BOARD FORMED OF FERROMAGNETIC MATERIAL; AND PERMANENTLY MAGNETIZED PLAYING PIECES ADAPTED TO MAGNETICALLY ATTACH THEMSELVES TO THE FERROMAGNETIC TARGET WHEN BROUGHT INTO MAGNETIC PROXIMITY THERETO BY SAID STRAIGHT LINE MOVEMENT DIRECTLY TO SAID TARGET, SAID TARGET AND PLAYING PIECE BEING SUFFICIENTLY RIGID TO CAUSE REBOUND OF THE PLAYING PIECE WHEN IT STRIKES SAID TARGET WITH TOO MUCH FORCE. 